Mechanically operated liner washing collar



Oct. 31, 1961 w. PRACHNER 3, 7

MECHANICALLY OPERATED LINER WASHING COLLAR Filed May 19, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ll l5 5 14 a r m1 llll j 4 rm 4 m1 2 4 FIG. I FIG. 2

INVENTORI WILLIAM PRACHNER 1961 w. PRACHNER 3,006,374

MECHANICALLY OPERATED LINER WASHING COLLAR Filed May 19, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 43 VA Ll/v 7A 4 FIG 5 4 M CI .VI

FIG. 30 FIG. 3b

INVENTORI WILLIAM PRACHNER BYZ ang/ka t'fnvc HIS ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,006,374 MECHANICALLY OPERATED LINER WASHING COLLAR William Prachner, Seria, Brunei, Borneo, assignor to Shell Oil Company, a corporation of Delaware Filed May 19, 1958, Ser. No. 736,095 4 Claims. (Cl. 137625.38)

This invention relates to a valve and more particularly to a tubular valve which is adapted to be disposed in the casing of a tubed well to control the circulation of a fluid through the casing.

In wells and particularly oil wells it is oftentimes desirable to circulate a fluid in the reverse direction through the perforations in the well liner or casing in order to remove the solid particles which are deposited in front of and in the perforations of the liner. In order to circulate the fluid it is necessary to introduce the fluid in the interior of the perforated liner at one location and allow it to flow outwardly through the perforations in the liner and return to the liner through perforations which are spaced from the first perforations. In order to control the fluid circulation tubular valves are used for controlling the openings in the liner through which the fluids return to the interior of the liner.

Previously, tubular valves have been proposed for this purpose but all of these valves are diflicult to manipulate and fail in the open position instead of the closed or safe position. Furthermore, the actuators used with previous valves would open all of the valves as they, were inserted into the wells and close all of the valves as th'eywere withdrawn from the wells with the operator having no control over the sequence of operation. Furthermore the operator could not open and close one of a plurality of valves but had to open all of the valves as'the actuator was inserted into the well and close all of the valves as it was withdrawn.

Accordingly it is the primary object of this invention I to provide a novel tubular valve for installation in the tubular casing of a well which may be opened and closed as desired. 1

It is another object of this invention to provide a tubular valve for installation in the casing of the well which will fail in the closed or safe position.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a novel actuating means for a tubular valve by which the operator may selectively open and close any desired valve of a 1plurality of valves installed in the tubular casing of a we These and other objects and advantages of this invention are obtained by providing a first or outer tubular member having ports formed therein and a second or inner tubular member which fits inside between first tubular member and is also provided with a series of ports. By moving the second tubular member so that the ports formed therein align or register with the ports formed in the first tubular member communication between interior and exterior of the two tubular members is provided. In the preferred embodiment of the invention the first tubular member is permanently joined to the tubular casing of the well. The second tubular member is positioned by means of an actuator having two pairs of opposed dog members pivotedly mounted on its outer surface. Two of the dog members are disposed to engage a shoulder formed on the second tubular member as the actuator is lowered into the casing, while the other two dogs are disposed to engage a second shoulder formed on the second tubular member as the actuator is withdrawn from the casing. .When it is desired to pass the actuator completely through the second tubular member without moving it the actuator is rotated so that the dog members engage neither the first nor second shoulders formed on the second tubular member but rather ride on a land between the shoulders. The valve is designed to fail safe by utilizing the lowest position of the inner tubular member as the closed position of the valve. Thus in case of failure of the means used to retain the inner tubular member in position, it will fall by gravity to its lowest position which will close ofl the ports in the first tubular member.

The above objects and advantages of this invention will be more easily understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the attached drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal section of a tubular valve constructed according to this invention with the actuator removed;

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal section showing the actuator in place with one pair of dog members engaged to move the inner tubular member to a downward or closed position;

FIGURES 3a and 3b are one section with 3a being the lower portion and 3b being the upper portion of a longitudinal section of a well showing the well casing and valve in section and the actuator in elevation;

FIGURE 4 is a section taken along line 44 of FIG- URE 1 and showing the inner and outer tubular members; and r FIGURE 5 is arsection taken along line 5-5 of FIG- URE 2 and showing'the means used for pivoting one of the dog members.

Referring now particularly to FIGURES 1 and 2 there is shown a well liner or casing which comprises a bottom or perforated liner 10 and an upper liner 11. The bottom liner is provided with aseries of perforations 12 through which the petroleum may flow from the reset: voir into the interior of the liner which will conduct it to the surface of the well. The upper and bottom liners are connected together by the outer tubular member'13 of the valve which is joined at its upper end to the tubular liner 11 by means of an annular weld 15 and at its lower end to the bottom liner 10 by means of an annular weld 14. As shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 the outer tubular member 13 overlaps a position of both the upper and bottom liners so as to provide two shoulders which limit the axial travel of the inner tubular member 20. The outer tubular member is provided with a series of ports or openings 16 which provide communication through the outer tubular member.

The inner tubular member 20 is positioned in the interior of the outer tubular member and sufficient clearance is provided so that the inner tubular member'- may move axially within the outer tubular member. The upperend 21 of the inner tubular member contacts the shoulder formed by the bottom end of the upper tubular liner 11 while the lower end 22 contacts the shoulder formed by the upper end of the bottom liner .10. "Thus the axial movement of the inner tubular member 20 is limited between a lower and an upper position. 'The inner tubular member is provided with a series of ports or openings 23 which provide communication through the inner tubular member. As shown in FIGURE 2 the ports in the inner tu'bular member are aligned or in register with the openings in the outer tubular member whilein FIGURE 1 the ports are out of register thus preventing communication into the tubular member. In order to insure that the openings 23 in the inner tubular member are properly aligned radially with respect to the openings of the outer tubular members diametrically opposed lteysv 24 are permanently attached to the outer tubular" member and project into axial guide ways 25 which are formed in the outer surface of the inner tubular member.

In order to prevent leakage of fluid past the clearance chosen between the inner and outer tubular members three resilient sealing rings 26, 30 and 31 are disposed in groves f rmed in the o e su f c o the inner tubular member, These sealing rings may be formedof any suitable resilient material such as plastic or neoprene rubber. As can easily be seen two of the rings are disposed adjacent each side of the opening 23 in the inner tubular member while the third ring is disposed adjacent to the top of the inner tubular member.v T If desired-the lowest sealing ring 26 may be omitted entirely and satisfactory results still obtained. The interference between the .rings and the outer tubular member should be suflicient to prevent accidental movement of the inner tubular member.

From the above description it may be see that if the inner tubular member 20 is moved to an extreme upper position the openings in the inner and outer tubular members will be aligned thus permitting communication between the area surrounding the well casing and the interior of the casing. If the inner tubular member is moved to an extreme lower position the openings will be out of register thus preventing communication through the two tubular members. Thus if a means is provided for positioning the inner tubular member circulation through tubular members may be easily controlled. Also from the above description it may be seen that the valve of this invention will fail safe since the lower position of the inner tubular member is the closed position. Thus if the inner tubular member fails to remain in the extreme upper position after it is moved it will fall to its lowest position by gravity and close off the ports in the outer tubular member. a The inner tubular member is moved by an actuating member consisting of a tubular actuator body 41 which is attached ,at its upper and lower ends to a string of tubular members 40 and 43 by means of threaded coupllngs 42. The upper tubular string 40 extends to the surface of the well so that the actuator may be raised 7 or lowered as well as rotated in the well casing while the lower tubular member 43 terminates in a closed lower end as shown in FIGURE 3a. The lower tubular member 43 is also provided with a series of perforations 44 which are disposed between two conventional well packers 45 and 46. This arrangement provides a simple means for washing the solid particles from the perforatlons 12 in the well casing 10 by circulating a fiuid down through the tubular string 40, the tubular actuating body and out the perforations 44. The two well packers 45 and '46 will force the fluid to flow through the perforations 12 disposed between the two well packers 'and the fluid will return to theinterior of the well casing through the aligned openings in the inner and outer tubular members of the valve as seen in FIGURE 3b.

The actuator has four dog members which are mounted in diametrically opposed pairs, Two of the dog members are omitted from FIGURE'Z for the purpose of simplification of the drawings. The dog members are hinged about a hinge pin 51 which is a relatively tight fit in the dog members but a loose fit in the openings 56 formedin the ears 60 which project from the outer surface of tubular actuator body 41. This clearance is easily seen in FIGURE 5 of the drawings and is provided so that the rounded ends 57'of the dog members will bear against the concave surfaces of the ears 60. This insures that the tubular actuator body 41 will receive the load required for moving the inner tubular member and not the hinge pin 51. A leaf spring 52 is secured to each dog and disposed between the inner surface of the dog member and the outer surface of the actuator body to bias the free end 61 of the dog member in an outward direction. The outward movementof the free .end'of the dog member is limited by means of a stop member 53 disposed on the outer surface of the actuator body. The stop member 53isprovided'with a flange 54 which extends in an axial direction on each side of the member and engages axial projecting lips 55 formed on the free end 61 of each of the dog members.

The free end 61 of the dog member engages the shoulders 62 and 70 which are formed on one end of the axial slots 63 and 71, respectively. As seen in FIGURE 1 the opposite end of the axial slots 63 and 71 terminate in ramped or sloping surfaces 64 and 72, respectively. The hinged end of each of the dog members 50 is provided with a concave surface 58 which facilitates the movement of the actuator through the well casing. As is also seen in FIGURE. 1 the slots 63 are disposed at diametrically opposite positions and adapted to be engaged by the dog member 50 disposed on the upper portion of the actuator body. The slots 71 are disposed so that the shoulder 70 is engaged by the dog members disposed "on the lower portion of the actuator body. Thus the slots 63 are used for moving the inner tubular member in a downward direction while the slots 71 are used for moving the tubular member in an upward direction. The alignment and radial position of the slots 63 and 71 is more easily seen in FIGURES 4 and 5. From these'figures it can be seen that by rotating the actuator the other set of slots .can be engaged so that the inner tubular member may be moved in the opposite direction. Also, if the actuator is rotated only 4 5 so that the outer surface of the dog members engages the lands 73 which remain between the slots 63 and 71 the dog members will be held out of engagement with all of the slots and actuating member can be moved in either direction through the inner tubular member without disturbing the position of the inner tubular member. The accidental movement of the inner tubular member is prevented by providing sufficient interference or friction between sealing rings 26, 30 and 31 and the inner surface of the outer tubular member. The interference, of course, can be controlled by controlling the size of the sealing rings and material from which they are fabricated.

From the above description it can be seen that this invention provides a simple tubular valve whose position can be controlled by the operator in any desired position. Also, it is possible to pass the actuating member com? pletely through the valve without changing its position. Accordingly, this invention should not be limited to the particular embodiment described and shown but only to its broad spirit and scope.

I claim as my invention:

1, A tubular valve for well casings comprising: a first ported tubular member; a tubular valve member disposed in said first tubular member, said tubular valve member having ports formed th rein and in addition being movable axially between a first position in which the ports in said valve member are aligned with the ports in said first tubular member and a second position in which the ports are misaligned; first dog means disposed on an actuator to engage a first recessed shoulder formed on said valve membar and move said valve member in one direction; second dog means disposed on said actuator to engage a second recessed shoulder formed on said valve member and to move it in the other direction at least one continuous inwardly projecting longitudinal land formed on the interior wall of said tubular valve member and means including rotation of said actuator for aligning said first and second dog means with said longitudinal land to'force said dog members inwardly out of engagement with said first and second recessed shoulders and permit said actuator to pass through said tubular valve member without moving the tubular valve member axially.

2. A tubular valve for well casings comprising: a first ported tubular member; a tubular valve member disposed in said first tubular member, said tubular valve member having poitsformed therein and in addition being movable axially between a first position in which the ports in said valve member are aligned with the ports in said first tubular member and a second position in which the ports are misaligned; an actuator having first dog means disposed thereon to engage a first shoulder means formed on said valve member and move said valve member in one direction; second dog means disposed on said actuator to engage a second shoulder means formed on said valve member and move said valve member in the opposite direction at least one continuous inwardly projecting longitudinal land formed on the interior wall of said tubular valve member, and means including movement of said first and second dog members to permit alignment of said first and second dog members with said land whereby said dogs may be moved axially through said tubular valve member without moving the tubular valve member axially.

3. A tubular valve for well casings comprising: a first ported tubular member; a tubular valve member disposed in said first tubular member, said tubular valve member having ports formed therein and in addition being movable axially between a first position in which the ports in said valve member communicate with the ports in said first tubular member and a second position in which the ports do not communicate; a tubular actuating member extending through said valve member; at least one dog member secured at one end to said actuating member to pivot about an axis at an angle to the axis of said actuating member, the other end of said one dog member being biased to move outwardly to engage a first recessed shoulder formed on the inner surface of said valve member to move said tubular valve member in one direction; at least one additional dog member secured at one end to said actuating member to pivot about an axis at an angle to the axis of said actuating member, the other end of said additional dog member being biased to move outwardly to engage a second recessed shoulder formed on the inner surface of said valve member to move said tubular valve member in the opposite direction at least one inwardly projecting longitudinal land formed on the interior wall of said tubular valve member and means including rotation of the actuating member to permit said first and second dog members to be aligned with said land whereby said actuating member may be passed through said tubular valve member without moving the tubular valve member axially.

4. A tubular valve for a tubular well casing comprising: a ported tubular member; a sleeve member disposed in said ported tubular member for limited movement between an upper and lower position, the upper position of said sleeve member permitting communication through the ports of said ported tubular member and the lower position preventing communication through the ports of said ported tubular member; an actuating member having at least two dog members pivotedly mounted thereon, one of said dog members being disposed to engage said sleeve member only upon upward movement of said actuating member and the other of said dog members being disposed to engage said sleeve member only on the downward movement of said actuating member and at least one inwardly projecting continuous longitudinal land formed on the interior surface of the sleeve member whereby said actuating member may be moved to align said one and said other dog members with said land to permit said actuating member to be moved through said sleeve member without moving said sleeve member axially.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Eckel Nov. 11, 1958 

